Wipturm

The Wipturm was a defense tower of the medieval city ​​fortifications of Magdeburg's old town . The tower has not been preserved and disappeared in the 17th and 18th centuries. Century.

location

The tower was located in the area of ​​today's Fürstenwalls on the banks of the Elbe , between the still existing defensive towers tower behind the exit of the Möllenvogtei and Kiek in de Köken .

history

Below the Magdeburg Cathedral , in the area of ​​the cathedral rock , there was the so-called Domfurt , which made it possible to pass the Elbe on the long-distance trade route to the east, continuing via the Klus . In the 13th century, a wooden bridge was built over the Elbe in the area of ​​the Domfurt. On the west bank of the Elbe towards the city, this bridge was secured by a free-standing round tower, partly made of wood. The bridge collapsed on July 13, 1275 during a procession after being damaged by floods in the winter of the same year. The tower remained undamaged. In 1361 this old was keep then by one of greywacke - dry stone replaced erected tower. The tower, which was also round, had a slimmer structure on its lower floors.

Immediately north of the Wipturm and thus between the tower and the Kiek in de Köken, the access from the Elbe to the archbishopric Elbe harbor, built in 1377, was described as dilapidated for the year 1520. The little port was between the tower and the city. A crane boom was attached to the Wipturm, which was used to load and unload ships. Its name is derived from this peculiarity of the tower.

The tower also served as a customs office on the Elbe . The Wipturm is mentioned in the floor plan of the city of Magdeburg made by Otto von Guericke in 1632 . The Wipturm is no longer shown as a tower on fortress maps of Magdeburg Fortress , but the city wall protrudes to the east at this point. It is likely to be the walling of the remains of the Wipturm. When the prince's wall was built at the beginning of the 18th century, all of the defense towers in this area, with the exception of the tower behind the Möllenvogtei and Kiek in de Köken exit, were shortened to the height of the wall.

literature

• Helmut Menzel, Der Fürstenwall , City Planning Office Magdeburg 2001, page 23 f.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Menzel, Fürstenwall, page 46

Coordinates: 52 ° 7 ′ 27 "  N , 11 ° 38 ′ 11.8"  E